Dental cuspidor shield



Nov. 29, 1949 H. H. LAWNE 2,489,967

.DENTAL CUSPIDOR SHIELD Filed June 22, 1948 |Nvr-:NTOR HARO/p H. LAV/NE,

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Patented Nov. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DENTAL CUSPIDORSHIELD Harold H. Lavine, Washington, vD. C.

Application .I une 22, 1948, Serial No. 34,445

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a shield for a dental cuspidor.

One object of my invention is to provide a shield for a dental cuspidorwhich will prevent dental patients from expectorating beyond the wallsof the cuspidor.

Another object is to provide such a device which may be easily attachedand removed.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a device constructedof material which may be readily cleaned and sterilized.

A still further object of my invention is to provide such a structurewhich may be inexpensively manufactured and will be durable in use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon considering thefollowing specification when read in light of the attached drawings, inwhich Fig. l. is a front elevation of my invention attached to astandard dental cuspidor,

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of my invention attached to a dental cuspidor,and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shield.

In the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout theseveral views, the reference numeral 5 indicates generally the standarddental lavatory and cuspidor comprising a hollow standard 5 having atthe top thereof a glass stand and drain 1, water supply pipe 8, arrangedto feed water to a glass 9 standing on the glass stand and drain l. Anadditional water supply pipe Ill leads from the standard 6. A cuspidorsupport II is attached to the standard 5 and contains a drain pipetherein. A cuspidor I2, having a funnel-shaped lower portion I3 forconveying fluid material from the cuspidor I2 to the drain in thecuspidor support II, is mounted on top of the cuspidor support II. Thecuspidor I2 is further provided with an upstanding annular side wall I4,having an inturned lip portion I5 provided at its upper edge.

A shield I6 is formed from a semi-circular sheet of plastic stock and isprovided with a multiplicity of flexible plastic hooks I'I on the outerlower face thereof. The hook members I'I are secured to the shield I6 byintegral formation, glueing, screws, or any other suitable means. 'Ihelower corners I3 of the shield IS are turned outwardly and upwardly toprovide additional hook elements I9.

In the use and operation of the invention, the shield I6 is insertedwithin the interior of the cuspidor I2 with the lower edge of the shieldI5 extending to the lower surface of the cuspidor I2. The hooks I'I areengaged over the outer edge of the annular wall I4 and the hooks I9 areengaged under the inner lower edge of the lip I5. This, as can be seenfrom Fig. l, provides a rather stable locking arrangement to preventaccidental disengagement of the shield I6 from the cuspidor I2.

An opening 20 may be provided in one side of the shield I6 to permit thepassage of the water supply pipe I0 through the shield IB to thecuspidor I2.

In modern dental work, it is customary to paralyze the fifth trigeminalnerve and the seventh facial nerve with Novocain or other localanesthetic prior to performing any painful operation on the teeth. Theparalysis of these nerves in turn paralyze or cause the loss of controlof the facial muscles and the muscles of the tongue which interferesseriously with the patients ability to control his expectoration, andconsequently, a patient will oftentimes miss the dental cuspidor when heattempts to expectorate the blood and saliva collected in his mouth,following a dental operation, and will expectorate on the floor or wall.This, of course, creates both an unsanitary and an unsightly conditionand presents a serious problem to the dentist in cleaning the premisesafter one patient has been released before the next patient can beadmitted.

With my invention, the patient will be prevented from spreadingexpectorant over the premises and the shield may be easily and quicklycleaned by the dentist or his assistant before the next patient isadmitted.

While I have disclosed one form of my invention, it is to be understoodthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit or scope of this invention as deiined by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A shield for a dental cuspidor comprising a semi-circular bodymember, a pair of outwardly and upwardly extending hook elements formedon the two lower corners of the body member, a multiplicity ofdownwardly extending hook elements attached to the outer surface of saidbody whereby the body member is adapted to be inserted within a dentalcuspidor with the iirstnamed hooks engaged under the inturned lip of thecuspidor and the second-named hooks engaging over the outside wall ofthe dental cuspidor.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the body member and the hookmembers are formed of flexible plastic material.

3. A shield for a dental cuspidor of the type comprising a bowl having arelatively flat bottom portion, downwardly converging into a drainportion, the outer circumferential edge of the bottom portion being aredupwardly and outwardly to form a side wall, and the top edge of saidside Wall being rolled inwardly and downwardly to form an in-turned lipcomprising a semi-circular body member, a pair of outwardly and upwardlyextending hook elements formed, integrally with the body meml'xerl by;outwardly ande upwardlyf bending the two lower corners, and amultiplicity of downwardly extending flexible hook elements, attached tothe outer surface of said body, said first-named hook elements beingadaptedto; em-a gage under the lip of the cuspidor in cooperation 15aREFERENCES CITED The; following4 References are of record in the le Qithis;v patenti.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

